Spreading Kimono Casual through Marketing【FAR EAST FABRIC】

interview

Nijima Hideaki

Operating the Kimono Casual brand “FAR EAST FABRIC” in Fukuoka Prefecture. Our concept is “everyday wearable kimono,” and we offer a wide variety of kimono remodeled items, mainly aloha shirts, at affordable prices.

We had the opportunity to interview Mr. Hideaki Niijima, who runs the Kimono Casual brand “FAR EAST FABRIC” in Fukuoka Prefecture.

During our conversation, we learned about his daily actions to spread Kimono Casual to as many people as possible and his deep passion for kimono.

In this article, we asked Mr. Niijima about the brand’s activities, its origins, his commitments, and future goals.

Activities of FAR EAST FABRIC

——— Could you please tell us about the business you are doing?

Hideaki Niijima (hereafter, Niijima): We upcycle unused kimonos into shirts, parkas, and coats that can be worn in daily life.

——— Do you also sell them at physical stores in addition to the online shop?

Niijima: We have one store located where our factory and warehouse are in Kitakyushu, and we sell our products there. We also participate in pop-up shops at department stores and shopping malls if invited.

The Inspiration behind Kimono Casual

——— Why did you start this brand and the remake of Kimono?

Niijima: Our company was founded by President Kawamata.

It all started when Kawamata bought a kimono at an auction where only people with an antique dealer’s license could enter.

As vases, hanging scrolls, helmets, and other items were rapidly increasing in price, kimono, on the other hand, had no buyers and the prices kept dropping from the initial asking price. As kimono are inherently beautiful and highly respected by Japanese people, Kawamata felt disgusted by how they were being treated and decided to purchase them.

However, since most of the kimonos he purchased were women’s clothing, he couldn’t wear them himself or give them to someone else, leaving him in a state of confusion.

At a time when he continued to struggle with this problem, he happened to open a magazine and saw a feature on aloha shirts. It was written that the origin of aloha shirts was that Japanese immigrants who moved to Hawaii remade kimonos to suit the local climate.

Kawamata had an intuitive feeling and immediately found a craftsman to create the first aloha shirts, which determined the direction of the brand.

——— When did you join FAR EAST FABRIC, Mr. Niijima?

Niijima: I joined when the company was founded and started sales. Since a website was also necessary when starting a company, Kawamata invited me to join.

Originally, I was working as a business consultant, launching new businesses and producing them. Therefore, I became a director to make Kawamata’s vision of spreading Kimono Casual clothing around the world a reality. I’m in charge of the company’s marketing strategy, such as creating a website and researching who to target for sales.

The Challenges of Remaking Kimono

——— Do you face any challenges in running the brand or in remaking kimonos?

Niijima: Most people can’t sew kimonos. We were able to launch the brand because we met craftsmen who could sew kimonos, but when we are featured in the media, for example, even if we prepare about 100 pieces, they sell out quickly.

In that case, if there are no people who can sew, we will run out of products.

Of course, if we can teach someone, they can learn to sew, but for small brands like us, there is not enough time to educate.

It was difficult because there was only one person who could sew and we couldn’t keep that person teaching forever.

——— Do you have any craftsmen who can sew kimonos now?

Niijima: We have found craftsmen who can sew kimonos and have gradually established a system where they learn under the supervision of the sewing manager. However, it is a tough situation whether we can handle the amount needed in the world.

Also, there was a problem that if we completed everything with domestic production, the cost would be high, and the selling price would become too high. We thought that it would be difficult for kimono casual wear to become widely popular if the price is too high, so we started teaching sewing at a partner factory in Vietnam two years ago, and now we can sew some short-sleeved shirts.

What’s Important in Their Activities

——— Do you have anything that you are particular about or value in your activities?

Niijima: Yes, I want to improve the kimono industry even more in the future, so I have asked customers to talk to me for about three minutes.

Our items are one-of-a-kind pieces that nobody else has. So, we used to assume that our customers were people who are knowledgeable about clothes and have a high sense of fashion when asking them questions.

However, we found out that many customers actually struggle with choosing clothes, or they have someone else in their family buy clothes for them.

Through further interviews, we learned that some customers were interested in wearing traditional Japanese clothing or found our brand’s background interesting, which led them to make a purchase. When they actually saw the high quality and lightweight fabric of our kimono, they fell in love with its ease of wear and have become repeat customers.

Based on these interview results, we strive to create classic designs that are timeless and do not become boring even after many years, while still highlighting the beauty of the kimono itself.

Future Prospects

——— Do you have any goals or challenges that FAR EAST FABRIC would like to pursue in the future?

Niijima: There are apparently hundreds of millions of unused kimonos out there. When you consider the sheer number, we can only make and sell a limited amount. So, we want to expand our market and have people around the world see our clothes.

To achieve this, it is important to understand what kind of design or what kind of clothing people want to wear when they incorporate kimonos into their daily wardrobe around the world.

Personally, there is something that strongly moves me. It is the act of remaking the kimonos that grandmothers have left behind and having their grandchildren wear them.

I believe that the opportunity to face these sleeping kimonos will continue to increase from now on, and I want people to know that there is an option to have them made into new clothes.

If it is something that a grandmother left behind, it will undoubtedly become a memorable and interesting item for that individual person, so we also have an outlook of making this process more systematic.

Through these activities, I would be happy if we could effectively shape these sleeping kimonos and leave them behind for future generations.

Conclusion

In this article, we interviewed Hideaki Niijima from FAR EAST FABRIC about the brand’s activities, its beginnings, philosophy, and future prospects.

FAR EAST FABRIC offers a variety of clothing items for men, such as Kimono shirts, jackets, and Aloha shirts.

If you’re looking for unique and stylish clothing, be sure to visit their store or website.

Note: The photos used in this article were provided by FAR EAST FABRIC.

And thank you to everyone for watching until the end.